On 28 April a unique exhibition of British fashion designers "Reconstruction: cultural heritage and the making of contemporary fashion" opened at the State Central Museum in Almaty  The exhibition is organised by the British Council and is supported by the Central State Museum of Kazakhstan and Kazakhstan Fashion Week, as well as bmi airlines, Energy FM radio station and the Kazakhstan Press Club.

The British designer Gerard Wilson made a special visit to Almaty for the opening of the exhibition. Gerard is a business partner of Peter Jensen, whose works are displayed at the exhibition among with those of other leading fashion designers from the UK, such as Vivienne Westwood, Paul Smith, Hussein Chalayan, Sophia Kokosalaki, Marios Schwab and Osman Yousefzada.

“I am delighted to be taking part in the first ever fashion exhibition to be held in Kazakhstan. Behind each of my collections, there are many stories. The work on display in Reconstruction is inspired by a trip I took to Greenland to research my Aunt Jytte who owned a café and cab company there and was fascinated by 1960s fashion. I hope my work will encourage young fashion designers in Kazakhstan and the other countries to which this exhibition will travel to look at their own heritage and environment and take inspiration from them,” said Peter Jensen during the project development process.  

"This exhibition is part of our work supporting the arts and cultural exchange between the UK and Kazakhstan", - said Lena Milosevic, Director of British Council in Kazakhstan.

At the opening of the exhibition there was a catwalk show with clothes from Kazakh designers representing Kazakhstan Fashion Week, as well as a raffle with prizes donated by bmi and the British Council. The exhibition will run until May 23, 2011 and during this period the British Council held a series of events with the involvement of British experts in the sphere of arts and fashion, including professional seminars and meetings.

According to the fashion catalogue by Alison Moloney, ‘Reconstruction’ celebrates the work of seven of the UK’s leading fashion designers – Hussein Chalayan, Peter Jensen, Sophia Kokosalaki, Paul Smith, Marios Schwab, Vivienne Westwood and Osman Yousefzada.  Their approaches differ markedly, but their work in this exhibition demonstrates a shared philosophy: a skilful distillation of elements of their respective pasts – either personal moments or a collective cultural heritage – to create contemporary garments with narrative.

Photos from the opening

Promo video

British Ambassador at the opening of the Fashion exhibition